Table Toppers Toppled at the Fortress

This much awaited top of the table clash delivered the result that the large crowd wanted and saw Honiton top the Devon and Cornwall league. A player sponsor lunch was held before the game and the players rewarded their sponsors with a fine performance. Playing up the slope Honiton kicked off deep into Bude half, defensively they were solid and gave the away side an indication of what they were going to be up against. The pressure told and Bude coughed up possession and after several phases, moving the ball up field Honiton won a penalty and Cave slotted over to Honiton a 3-0 lead after 5 minutes.

Bude pressed and enjoyed multiple phases but were unable to make any in roads into the Honiton half and turned over possession yet again but Honiton could not take advantage. Honiton pressed in defence and turned over the ball allowing Adam Thompson to make a sixty yard break deep in to Bude twenty two. A great driving maul by the Honiton pack saw a penalty try awarded to bring the scores to 10-0 after 12 minutes. Dominating the game both in defence and attack Honiton pressed again deep into the Bude half and won a penalty just shy of the try line. The forwards went through the phases before the ball was shipped wide for Jake Smith to continue his rich vein of try scoring to score out on the left. The conversion attempt sailed wide but Honiton were 15-0 up after 18 minutes.

The next kick off saw Alex Brooker kick deep into the Bude half and Honiton won the resulting line out only to concede an offside penalty allowing Bude to clear their lines.

Honiton defence was resolute and they sniffed out any Bude attacking ambition turning the ball over and moving toward the Bude line. An unusual handling error by the Ton allowed Bude to relieve their lines and the Honiton threat was temporarily suspended.
Despite dominating possession and territory Honiton found the Bude defence stubborn and were unable to capitalise seeing no score for 10 minutes. The scoring deadlock continued as Honiton won a penalty and secured the line out, the forwards drove towards the line before releasing the back line but were frustrated by the Bude defence and were unable to capitalise.

Conditions started to deteriorate as half time approached with rain setting in and the wind picking up. This resulted in handling mistakes by both teams and a territorial stalemate in the Bude twenty two.

Bude were unable to exit their twenty two and conceded a penalty for not releasing giving Ollie Cave an easy shot on goal. He duly obliged and increased the Honiton lead to 18 points a couple of minutes shy of the end of the half. It was at this point that Bude finally got in to the Honiton twenty two. They moved the ball towards the Honiton line and despite winning two line outs they were unable to get over the gain line and Honiton cleared their lines with a good exiting kick and ended the half 18-0 up.

The second half got underway with Honiton starting well with territorial advantage continuing and play mainly contested in the Bude half. The rain increased making possession difficult to maintain. Honiton Ill discipline saw them concede a penalty and gave Bude possession in the Honiton twenty two. This led to nothing and scrum followed, the scrum collapsed and a resulting injury saw the game halted for several minutes.
When play resumed the rain had caused conditions to deteriorate significantly. Honiton won a scrum penalty forcing the Bude front row to stand up. A line out was secured and Honiton drove into the Bude twenty two. A clever kick by Thompson gave Honiton a line out close to the try line but the ball was held up short and Bude kicked clear.

Honiton gathered the kick and pressed forwards, after several phases the ball was shipped left through the back line and James Coutts Tucker, who had been involved throughout the game, got his reward as he slid over on the left after 15 minutes of the second half. Cave converted to bring the score to 25-0.

Bude had sustained pressure in Honiton half but were ineffective,as they had been through most of the game, unable to break the gain line on a regular basis. Honiton turned the ball over again thus negating another Bude attack. For the next few minutes both teams traded terms around the half way line resulting in a stalemate in the midfield.

With ten minutes remaining Honiton secured the bonus point with Blackmore going over on the right after the forwards went through the phases to suck in the Bude back row. Cave was unsuccessful with the conversion bringing the score to 30-0.

Bude did not let their heads drop and as table toppers they should play they moved the ball up field but a forward pass saw their attacking threat come to nothing. The resulting scrum saw Honiton win a penalty and the lines were cleared and the ball moved into the Bude half. This proved to be the last action the crowd could enjoy with the clock winding down and the final whistle blown. The conditions played a major factor in the performance of both teams but Honiton dominance throughput the game saw them a deserved 30-0 win to climb to the top of the table.

Next week they travel to Penryn, who are another form team in the league, as they strive to to realise the club goal to get to Twickenham. This being the first hurdle they must clear, a good supporting crowd is guaranteed with a supporters coach boosting numbers down in Cornwall